Is It Safe to Pull a Rachel Zoe and Wear Heels When Pregnant?

When the maternity clothes come out, should the stilettos go away?

Rachel Zoe may have a baby on the way, but that hasn’t stopped her from wearing some pretty high heels recently.

It’s pretty incredible that Rachel managed to shimmy into those stiletto boots in the first place—most women have swollen feet because of fluid retention in their third trimester, says Alyssa Dweck, M.D., an ob-gyn in Westchester, New York, and an assistant clinical professor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. (Check out this BuzzFeed article for a visual that uses Kim Kardashian’s feet as an example.) In fact, many women may not be able to wear their favorite footwear ever again post-delivery: Pregnancy can make your feet wider and increase your feet by up to a full shoe size by the time you deliver, says Dweck, who is also coauthor of V Is for Vagina.

But is it safe to wear heels when you’re in your second or third trimester? While it’s not exactly dangerous, it’s not recommended, either. For one thing, your center of gravity is totally off in the second and third trimester, says Dweck. “Your balance is altered and you are a little bit more likely to fall, and I think wearing heels certainly exacerbates this.” Plus, you have a wider stance when you’re pregnant, she says, which also may make wearing high heels more challenging.

There’s also the comfort factor: Many pregnant women complain of leg cramps and/or lower back pain, and heels can definitely make those pains worse, says Dweck. In fact, The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists offers up tips for reducing back pain when you’re expecting, one of which is, “Wear low-heeled (but not flat) shoes with good arch support.”

For women who do plan to break out the heels while expecting, Dweck has some suggestions: “If you have to wear heels when you’re pregnant, alternate them with flatter shoes, and don’t wear heels every day,” she says. She also recommends standing really tall and almost drawing your belly in when you’re wearing heels to help prevent back pain. Doing some calf stretches should also help ward off cramps.